Met Police budget settlement to put more police on beat in London

Up to 1,000 more police officers could soon be patrolling London’s streets after the Metropolitan Police Authority had its budget settlement of £3.5bn ratified by the London Assembly.

As part of the package the authority expects the Metropolitan Police Service to create new PC posts to increase the presence of officers on London’s streets.

The authority’s chairman Len Duvall said: “This budget settlement of £3.5bn is very good news for the Met and for Londoners, with a significant rise in police numbers over and above expectations, while keeping the rise below inflation.”

However, Duvall warned that there would be “major issues” for the Met to deal with in the coming months and years – including anti-terrorist activities and developing strategies to tackle crimes against young people.

He also pledged to further reduce bureacracy in the service.

“Financial constraints remain and we will continue to work with the mayor and the police commissioner to reduce waste and deliver ongoing improvement to our services, and build in efficiency savings year on year,” he said.